I remember my first love affair
Somehow or another the whole darn thing went wrong
And my mamma had some great advice so I thought I'd put it into words of this song
I can still hear her sayin' girl oh I see you're sittin' out there all alone
Cryin' your eyes out cause the man that you love has gone
There's gonna be a whole lot of trouble in your life
So listen to me get up off your knees cause only the strong survive
That's what she said only the strong survive only the strong survive
So you've gotta be strong you'd better hold on
Don't go don't go around with your head hung down
Well I wouldn't let the little boy know
I wouldn't let him know that he made me feel like a clown
There's a whole lotta men looking for a good girl like you
But you know you'll never meet 'em if you give up now and say your life is through
And then she said only the strong survive only the strong survive
If you want to get a man you've got to take a stand only the strong survive
(Girl you'd better hold on life girl only the strong survive)
Only the strong survive...